Destinations / The Longest Rivers in the World / The Lena River

Great rivers in the world

Glance at a map of the earth, and in most places, you will see lines snaking their way across landmasses. These are tendrils cross plains, deserts and grasslands. They wind their way through valleys, canyons, and forests. These are rivers, our planet’s arteries of life. Rivers are closely linked with our human history. One of the earliest civilizations sprang up in the fertile valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers in the Middle East. Great civilizations were made possible by the Hwang River in China, the Ganges and the Indus in southern Asia, and the Nile in Egypt. No wonder, then, that man has always stood in awe before the might, the bounty, and the beauty of rivers.

About the Lena River

The Lena is the eastern most of the three great Siberian rivers that flows into the Arctic Ocean (the other two being the Ob River and the Yenisei River). It is the 11th longest river in the world and it has the 9th largest watershed. It is the greatest Russian river with its watershed entirely within national ranges. It bears the waters throughout 4400 km from its sources in Baikal mountains to the Arctic ocean. On the average the width of the Lena river reaches 15 km, the width of a channel in lower reaches to 20-25 km, and the sizes of the Lena delta are in the Guinness Book of Records. Its inflows Vitim, Olekma, Aldan and Vilyui surpass many large rivers of Europe. The delta is a frozen tundra for about 7 months of the year, but spring transforms the region into a lush wet land for the remainder of the year.There are no dams, no hydroelectric power stations on the river and the beauty of the river proceeds on a natural channel, as well as millions years ago. Here it is still possible to drink water, having scooped from the river in a palm.

The origin of the river

Surprising landscapes, the rich plant and animal world, the original culture of the ancient people - all these are capable to amaze the imagination of the most tempted traveler. When has the river Lena received its name? There are many versions. One of them, comic, attributes "christening" of the river to cossacks:" having passed the rivers Muku (on which they suffered), Kupu (where they bathed), Kutu (where they boozed) " they left on the big river where it was possible to be too lazy. From it there also was a river name – Lena(from russian „лень” - laziness). The majority of the researchers, however, believe that, most likely, Lena is a Russian tunguso-Manchurian name of this river "Elju-Ene" that means „the Big River ". And it is valid, because the length of this river is of 4400 km. The river Lena occupies the 11 th place among the largest rivers of the world and the second after the Amur river with its inflows by Shilka and Onon, among the rivers of Russia. From its catchment basin making 2500 км2 the river feeds its waters, more than 500 inflows on an extent over 10 km. Inflows The general length of inflows of the river Lena makes more than 50 thousand km. Such inflows as Oljkma, Vitim, Aldan and Vilyui can argue on the extent and the volume with any largest European artery. Lena introduces in Laptev sea about 540 cubic kilometers of water a year. And together with the water - more than 5 million tons of the dissolved substances, 27 million tons of the weighed deposits and a huge stock of heat of the Siberian earth. The Lena river starts absolutely nearby, all in 20 kilometers from the legendary lake-sea Baikal. It follows as a streamlet on a stony channel from a small roundish lake, located where the Baikal mountains is separated by water. The top site of the river is shown detailed in A.Kolesova and S.Mostahova's book: "Approximately in 20 km from a source to the right coast of the big Lena the small road goes down. It was laid by tourists, geologists and also the wood inhabitants coming on a watering place here. The width of the small river is big, only 5-7 m, the depth of the river is 0,2-0,4 m, but the speed of a current is considerable (to 7-9 km/hour). From here across the big Lena it is already possible to float on an inflatable boat … Soon the first nominal talkative stream of Zolotokan runs into the Big Lena. In the distance we can see amazing beauty: ridges with stony tops that become blue where one can see some snowflakes.”

History

But back again to its origins, or rather one of them to the Manzurke river flowing into the Lena river just above Kachuga. If we carefully look into the relief map, you'll find Manzurki very broad, sprawled valleys, and powerful, reaching 100 m invested into the thickness of the river (alluvial) deposits of sand and pebble composition. The biggest expert on geology and nature of the river Lena A. Borsuk, saw a huge disparity between the low speed and the flow of modern runoff. The oracle of the river Lena from the Baikal lake could occur as a result of lifting frame from the Baikal mountain ranges. High seismic activity of this territory, which manifests itself in a fairly frequent and strong earthquakes, and mountain slopes face their jagged slope and nudity does not contradict this assumption. But then had to form another river, originated from the lake.

Ancient legend about the river

There is indirect evidence that the origins of Lena’s oracle of Lake Baikal and the formation of a new waterway is just what happened to the memory of people who once populated those regions, which is reflected in an ancient Buryat legend about this event. We give it to some reduction in N.I. Tolstikhina record made by him in 1919. Since time immemorial, between the mountain ranges of southern Siberia Baikal hero lived and he had 360 rivers - daughters, among which was the favorite beauty Angara. The daughter loved her father supplying him with clean water and peace and tranquility reigned between them. But one day, Angara saw the youth of Yenisei running in the distance. At first glance, she fell in love with him and late at night and ran after him. In the morning the father did not find his beloved daughter, and seeing the fugitive away, pulled away from the nearest cliff a huge black stone and threw it at her. The stone fell just at the point where the Angara ran from the Lake Baikal and long dark black rock rose into the origins of the Angara River. Now from the rock was only a little stone islet slightly raised above the water level. Sore, Baikal pulled out of the mountain the second stone and with even greater force dropped after his daughter. . But again Angara has had time to run a dangerous place, and the stone fell into the valley formed and disintegrated into pieces, and having fraternal thresholds, where now the Brotherly Hydroelectric power station is constructed too. And the third stone has thrown Baikal after the daughter and that stone hardly further a mouth of the river Ylym has fallen and formed the rapids on which have constructed the Ust-Ylym Hydroelectric power station. So it was true or not , we cannot give it a trial. A fantastic story line of the ancient legends sometimes disguise historical facts in an unusual manner that are often distorted being transmitted from generation to generation. So the legend goes, but as it was in fact God only knows.

The valley of the river

Extending to 74 ° N, the valley of the river Lena crosses several latitudinal geographic zones and global geological structures, which determines the great diversity of its landscapes, and makes focusing on only those critical of their features, which even in small measure determine the hydrography and hydrology of the river, the contours of the valley and its sides, the work done by a mass of moving water and ice. However, to understand all this, is necessary to touch at least in broad outline, the Lena River basin, many features of its geological structure and history and, especially, permafrost conditions, determine the unique features of the Lena valley, distinguishing it from other river valleys of our planet. Lena is one of the few major rivers of Eurasia, not yet "saddled" hydroelectric dams or other water control structures. In its pool there are still untouched landscapes. There is another thing to defend and protect from itching unintelligent converters of nature. Vast areas of the Lena basin form a habitat for many Siberian peoples, in the first place - the Yakuts, the Evens and the Evenkis. They are inextricably linked with the natural environment that provides them foodstuff and an exchange.

The Lena’ s ecosystem

Finally, the landscapes of the Lena valley are unique. Their moral and the esthetic value will increase in the process of expansion of cultural exchanges, requirement to learn natural laws. These are internal security reasons of the Lena basin. Meanwhile, gold and diamonds, iron, coal, oil and gas, semi-precious stones and tiles, mica and apatite - this is not a complete list of what is contained in the bowels of the Lena land. The taiga and the tundra attract fishermen and hunters. The fertile land and river terraces are used for field crops reindeer moss, vegetables and livestock in the south, reindeer and horse pasture to the north. The Lena’s numerous inflows, innumerable lakes are reliable sources of fish. The river itself and its main tributaries are the transportation routes since ancient times. The territory of the Lena basin did not escape urban trends , in cities and towns industrial production and population is concentrated. These are the prerequisites for further action on the Lena ecosystems. Despite their size and number, rivers carry very little of the world’s fresh water. Nevertheless, they are vital to life. “Without access to and some degree of control over water,the human life at its simplest and its most complex would be impossible.” “The record of man’s response to that fact constitutes much of the history of civilization.” In fact, the more we study the rivers, the more we are compelled to give thanks.

Others The Longest Rivers in the World .

Maps of The Lena River